Mini twists are a great protective style! Mini twists, or micro twists, are one of my favorites because they are very versatile while still keeping the strands of my hair safe. However, sometimes they can… More

Sorry for being MIA! School has been crazy, graduation is coming up (Spring 2018), and trying to find a job/internship in Marketing has been tough. But I’m back! I want to make 2018 my year for growth both for my hair and my body 🙂

I recently also got braces and will be sharing my journey with my teeth looking bomb af!

But let’s get on to this hair growth challenge! I have been watching hundreds of videos (literally lol) on long term protective styling to get waist length hair. Often I mostly found videos on micro braids, mini twists, or weave. I’m not down with weave tbh, and after putting in some braids (Box Braids on My Natural Hair Only) I’m not a fan of those either.

So I thought about mini twists since I’ve been falling in love with micro locs and mini twists give that vibe. So on Dec 27 2017, I installed these beauties:

plan to maintain these for 3 months at a time. Washing bi-weekly by putting these in braids and shampooing the scalp, then the twists with conditioner.

Depending on how I feel, I might even keep these installed but wear wigs or crochet braids just to spice it up. My biggest fear is these mini twists turning into locs because I don’t think I can commit to that. So I’ll also be sharing how I prevent that from happening.

Ok so here are the guidelines that I’ll be following. Comment if you also want to join!

long term protective style for 1-3 months at a time

Massage scalp once a week (Friday)

Wash + Condition scalp and hair bi-weekly

Oil and check ends every three days to prevent breakage/matting/locing

Finger detangle only

Maintain the parts so there’s minimal combing

I hope I can keep this up!! I’ll be checking in biweekly with updates. My goal is 6 inches of growth maintenance. I’m currently at around 11-13 inches of hair length, so 15-19 inches will make me be at waist length.

I like being a lazy natural because I’m constantly finding ways to still look cute without having to do anything to my hair lol.

Aside from doing braids or twists (see my protective style journey posts “Box braids on your natural hair” or Chunky Twists on Natural Hair”) I truly enjoy wrapping my hair up for a week or two. My hair gets a break, and I still look presentable and neat! I especially love wrapping my natural hair in the summertime as it’s too hot to have hair on my shoulders or on top of my hair. Plus hair wraps provide a protective shade from all the sun 😉

Throw on a bonnet or satin scarf and make this a protective style for your edges and prevent fabrics from rubbing on your hair. The best things about all three of these head wrap styles is that they take at least 2 minutes to do. So if you’re late for school, work, the gym, whatever, these are great to know so you won’t have to come out the house looking too crazy lol.

How To Prep Your Natural Hair

My natural hair was in a previous style I wore to a few interviews, however generally I don’t have braids in the front when I make my buns. But because I’m lazy I just kept them and went with the flow! If you are doing this after wearing your hair in a style for a while, make sure to spritz hair with water and seal with a leave in conditioner.

Make sure to give your ends special attention with some oil after applying the leave in condition to keep the ends of your natural hair protected. Also wearing a sating bonnet or scarf under your scarf is recommended to decrease breakage (I’m usually fine without one, but if your hair is super fragile I suggest you wear one 😉 )

Style One – Jumbo Top Knot

For this head wrap style you will need to put your hair in a bun on the top of your hair. If your hair is long this will be easy. If your hair is a bit short, you can use a scarf underneath to create a bun. Secure the bun with bobby pins or hair pins, making sure it’s not too tight. Then take the scarf and place it on the back of your hair, near your nape, making sure to be in the middle of the scarf. Twist the scarf in the front of the hair to prepare to wrap around your bun. Just keep wrapping until you use up all of the scarf, tuck the end piece of the scarf under the rolls, and your done!

Style Two – Twisted Crown Bun

For this bun head wrap style you will need to put your hair in a bun in the back of your hair. Again if your hair is short, you can enhance your bun with a small scarf to support all of the fabric. Again, secure the bun with your bobby pins. This can be either tight, or puffy, depending on how you want the end result to be. I prefer the bigger look, so my bun is puffy.

Twist the scarf, but instead of wrapping it around the bun, wrap it around the crown of your head, making sure to twist as you go around. Once you’ve done that, keep wrapping until you meet the bun on the other side, and wrap the rest of the fabric around the bun. Secure under the rolls, using a bobby pin to keep it put just in case. This style is complete! 😉

Style Three – Jumbo Twisted Bun

You set up your natural hair similarly to the Twisted Crown bun, having the hair in the back. I prefer my bun to be poofy again, however for an even more conservative look, I’ll make the bun tighter. Wrap the scarf around the perimeter of the bun until all the fabric is gone. Then tuck the ends under the rolls to secure.

Twists are one my favorite protective styles for natural hair. Twisting natural hair can help stretch the hair to avoid tangles. But it also provides a great style option that is versatile. They can be pinned up in a bun or updo, or worn down to show that length! Of course, my favorite thing about them is that I can still have neat hair while I’m going to the gym or working out 5x a week.

(Twists done on blown dry hair)

As I am experimenting with long term protective styling, I fell in love again with twists, but specifically Chunky Twists on my natural hair. Instead of the usual tight mini twists that I’m used to, I decided to switch it up. I like the look of using additional hair like marley hair for twists, but I hate how heavy and thick they are. So I stretch my hair using my tension method blow drying technique, or a braid out using about 4-6 braids in my hair, and loosely twist my hair.

(Twists done on hair that was air dried, using braid out method)

I use a light gel and leave in to keep my hair bouncy but moisturized. They are just like regular twists, except you don’t twists tightly, and you move quickly down the section. I’ve done them both with blown out hair, and hair that has been stretched with braids. In my opinion, the blown out hair is more fluffy, while the air dried natural hair still twisted kinda tightly.

I get asked this questions sometimes, especially when I talk about how my hair has changed, or the different methods I have to take to style my hair.

However, my answer is no, I don’t regret dyeing my natural hair!

If you can’t tell by my Instagram or blog 🙂 I enjoy the different vibrant hues that hair can hold. It’s beautiful to me and I enjoy being able to maintain my hair long, while still having color.

One thing that has helped in easing my nerves is being prepared and knowing what my hair could handle, and what I need to stop doing after dyeing my hair.

In 2014, I did experience some color damage because I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I had no knowledge of color safety procedures, color-treated hair care routines, or products that would benefit my hair.

After that horrible experience, I had to slowly trim off my hair (my version of a big chop haha) and nurture my hair back to health.

In the meantime I gained knowledge on the proper methods of achieving color and how to maintain natural hair when it’s color treated. Just Recently I’ve been on a protective style challenge trying to ensure my hair stays long by minimizing my breakage. You can see some tidbits on my journey in my recent blog post “What Wearing Protective Styles Did to My Natural Hair”

I think more than ever, I’m glad to have (long) color treated natural hair and I have goals to grow it to great lengths! I do have plans to dye my hair again, this time without bleaching, so stay tuned for that!

Have any questions about my natural hair? Let me know in the comments!

Is it cute or nah?

This is not my favorite style to be honest. Without added hair the braids look thin and I felt sent back to elementary school age when my mom used to braid my hair so I would stop playing with it. Or at least I looked very snoop dog-ish lol.

How did I style them?

Although they do look a bit childish, they were awesome under my hair wraps! I was able to put the braids in a bun using only a ponytail holder (hair tie, headband, whatever people call them lol) and just wrap my fabric around.

Would I rock them in the future?

I appreciated how neat my head wraps were while having the braids, my hair is usually bulky when I wrap my hair after putting in a bun so this was a pro for me. As a style by itself I feel like these box braids using only my natural hair are a big NO. However when considering other styles like wearing the box braids under a hat, using the braids for a headwrap, or using the box braids for a neater wig lay I’m down!

It was super pretty and I enjoyed the fullness that my hair had. My braid outs and twist outs looked extra gorgeous being accented with the red and I didn’t see any damage to my hair after processing with the bleach. I was so happy and really enjoyed taking pictures, I even rented a camera and had a mini photoshoot (don’t judge me lol)

However as the months went on, I noticed how my hair started to feel a little rough (dry), and saw some breakage around the middle of my hair.

I totally forgot that dyed natural has to be treated with 10x as much care as before. Instead I was constantly touching my hair, putting it in puffs, brushing it to be detangled for a braid out, or even constantly retwisting my hair to have a cute twistout. Doing that, my hair paid for it, and I noticed a lot of breakage.

I’m not one to quickly reach for scissors to cut my hair in hopes that it would make it “healthier”. I realize that it was my routine and if I wanted to see my hair thrive I needed to change my routine! So for the past 3 months, starting in April, I decided to do a lot of long term protective styling. So I would avoid using combs and dentagnling brushes, and only finger detangle, then put my hair in twists. I would alternate between fluffy loose twists done on dry hair, and tight mini twists done on wet hair.

I would wash my hair every 2 weeks in the twists, let them air dry, and then recycle the parts by undoing the twists one by one, finger detangling, adding my leave in and oils, and then retwisting. I did the same thing adding extensions for marley twists.

I also experimented with braids using the same sections, and using headwraps so I had more style options. I also trimmed my hair once to get rid of some damaged ends as I noticed a lot of single strand knots. At the end of May, I got tired of this and did rock my signature puff for a while, and a few buns just to switch it up.

Recently, I blew out my hair using warm heat just to see where my hair is at and I’m in love!! It looks a lot fuller especially at my roots, and I noticed some growth. My hair grew about an inch and half so I’m excited to see what my hair length will be at the end of this year.

Do you do any long term protective styling? Let me know in the comments!

I was sent this gorgeous headband from Accented Glory to style and give a review. Tonya, the designer, was very sweet when sending me this item and she chose the perfect headband for my hair’s thickness!

**All feelings are my personal opinion**

I was able to use this headband for two of my signature lazy girl hair styles: High puff, and low pony.

However, I wanted to try something new and did a “double low-pony” style that came out cuter than I expected lol.

To see how I styled my hair, you can watch this video here:

My Review of the headband:

I absolutely LOVE this headband! I’ve always had issues with headbands not being able to stretch over all of my hair, so they end up breaking. With the adjustable feature of this headband I did not experience that at all.

The adjustable feature is my favorite (if you can’t tell lol) and I enjoyed not having to use any gels or pomades to get my edges to lay.

The colors of the headband are very vibrant and will most likely be a staple piece for me in the summer time.

How Can I Get a Headband?

If you’re interested in finding out more about Accented Glory’s headband selection, make sure to check out their Website and Facebook Page:

However, I always see these images and snapchat videos of people proud of their “protective style” that is pulling their hair so tight, you could see their brain.

And I’m always like why??

Just because it’s braids, twists, or cornrows that does not make the style protective!

So then, what is a protective hair style?

A protective style is one where your hair is styled in a manner that protects your strands, ends, and scalp/edges. These are often called low-manipulation styles that don’t involve heavy brushing or combing, tight pulling, and edge snatching qualities.

How to know if your style is protective:

Before getting a “protective style” you should ask your self these questions:

Will my hair be snatched to high heaven?

Do my edges need to be sacrificed to enjoy this style?

Will I probably grab pain medicine after the style is complete?

Will I have a hard time sleeping on the style due to pain?

Will the heat of hades and satan’s palace need to be used to set my style?

Will I have to pray to the Natural Hair angels after taking the style down, in hopes my hair is ok???

If you answered yes, to any of these questions. It’s best to stay away from the style (or person doing the style)…

But if you’re edges are screaming, and your scalp is itching because your hair is being pulled too tight at the scalp, you may want to consider a different style. Or at least loosen up the grip at the roots when styling.

Celebrities sometimes get a bad rep when it comes to beauty and hair care, as most believe that they wear weaves 24/7 or they don’t take care of their natural hair.

But there are female celebrities who rock their natural hair proudly, here are 10 of my favorites:

1. Solange

Solange has been giving my natural hair goals since her big chop in 2009. She became the inspiration for many to start their hair journey fearlessly, even with people making fun of her choice.

2. Viola Davis

After seeing Viola Davis rock her natural hair at the 2012 Oscars, I was in love! She was simply glowing with beauty and her natural hair was a gorgeous compliment.

3. Uzu Aduba

Uzu Aduba is well known for her role in Orange is the New Black, honestly I’ve never seen it (get mad at me later lol). But I did see her grace the stage in the Live Wizard of Oz and she was absolutely stunning!

4. Issa Rae

I have been rocking with Issa Rae since her “Awkward Black Girl” days, then fell back in love with her black girl magic in her HBO series “Insecure.” I loved how her natural hair was styled in each episode and how they didn’t shy away from displaying it in all of it’s glory.

Yara Shahidi

Well known for her role in the hit series “Blackish” Yara’s character, Zoey, can be seen wearing her hair in natural styles. Plus she rocks her beautiful curly fro on the red carpet + flaunts it on her Instagram #HairGoals

Tracee Elis Ross

Tracee is also a co-star with Yara on Blackish. But she became one of my favorite actors during the GOAT television shows “Girlfriends” where her curly fro was always in it’s glory.

Skai Jackson

Skai Jackson’s hair started making a buzz when she first appeared as the adorable Zuri on the Disney Channel Show “Jessie.” As we watched her grow up, her hair reached major length and I’m still in awe of this beauty! I also appreciate how her mom kept her natural hair, even though she went on a national television show.

Yaya Dacosta

I remember rooting for Yaya during the season 3 episode of America’s Next Top Model. She ended up becoming the runner up, but she was always a winner in my eyes! Especially with her gorgeous, thick fro that has always been an inspiration to me.

SZA (Solana Rowe)

SZA is a popular singer-songwriter that I fell in love with after hearing her featured on Wale’s – The Need to Know track. After searching the interwebs for who she was, I was an awe when I discovered her natural hair! Another one of my #HairGoals and #HairCrush

Justine Skye

Another popular singer-songwriter (and model!) made popular by her signature purple natural hair. I was led to her by her song Collide featuring Tyga years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites!

Do you have any favorite Celebrity Hair Crushes? Let me know in the comments!

I always get questions about my hair color by ladies (and gents) who wish to explore the magical world of dyed natural hair, but are afraid of bleach.

Personally, I think that if you wan’t vibrant hair that lasts a while, you will have to pre-lighten it.

However there are some bomb hair color options you can try that don’t involve bleach. Like at all!

Here are three ways to sprinkle color into your life (or hair lol) without ever needing to hear of bleach (you can thank me later 😉 )

Vibrant Eye Shadows

This one is super fun, simple, and easy to wash out. Use your favorite rich eyeshadow pigments to add streaks of color, or all-over high/low-lights. This can be achieved by rubbing eyeshadows on hair that has a little product in it, so the shadow sticks. This is super easy to remove (i.e. can rub off on EVERYTHING) but the results are beautiful. Here is one of my favorite tutorials on this method:

Liquid Hair Chalks

There are a few brands of liquid chalks out there, but I personally used the Garnier Color Styler in the shade Purple Mania and fell in love with the results! The color lasts longer than the eyeshadow method, and even stayed on a little after washing. One con to these products is that they can make your hair feel hard at first (they use waxes + clays) but the color payoff is amazing. It almost looked like I dyed my hair this purple color!

Hair Spray Paint

Like the liquid hair chalks, there are numerous “spray colors” around. The most popular is Jerome Russel BWild hair colors. I of course could not find it at my beauty barber supply store, instead they had the Jerome Russel Temp’ry hair color sprays which still did the trick. The only thing about these is that they really mimic spray paint, so you have to have a method when spraying it on. Not to close to your hair, and in downward motions to get it as even as possible. I tried pink, but I was inspired by the purple shade in MyRayeRaye’s hair dying video:

Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

Ok, so I added this as a bonus because, generally speaking, you do have to lighten your hair to a certain degree to display a semi permanent hair color. However, there are many people who enjoy the low-lights that can be seen in the hair while using semi permanent hair dyes on their natural hair. Some of my favorite brands are Manic Panic, Adore, and Sparkles. **Note that richer colors (Red, Blue, Purple) will likely show up more. Any type of neon or pastels won’t work, without your hair being pre-lightned.

I actually did this years ago before using bleach on my hair and got some great results, but her are some awesome results from using semi perm. colors on unbleached natural hair:

This is me YEARS ago lol I’m embarassed and proud, it’s my most watched vid!

Have you tried any of these methods before? Was it a fail or success? Let me know in the comments!